A Picture Perfect World
by eliana-moran
Summary: COMPLETE Jennifer Wells is a famous photographer. Blane Zan and Daniel Malcom are successful business men. No one knows anything about them beyond nine years ago. Are they who they appear? More info in profile
1. They're Here?

Chapter One: They're Here?

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, people were laughing, and the world was at rights. A red head was walking around the park. She had a camera strapped around her neck and was taking pictures of anything that caught her fancy. She had photographed the ruins the park was situated around extensively long before now, but she always returned to photograph the tourists and locals. It was amazing how easy it was to tell the difference. Even if a tourist did not have a camera, had brought a book and lunch, and was just enjoying the day without any program guides or attraction brochures, you could always tell, or at least she could.

She was in a good mood. It had been a long week and it felt wonderful to be out and about and free. That was, however, before she spotted a dark haired man, obviously wealthy, spread out on a blanket, a bottle of wine next to him, watching everyone else. He didn't belong here. It wasn't that he was a tourist, this man was never a tourist. He didn't live here, but he never _toured_ anywhere. No, it was that he didn't belong in her life. He didn't belong to be anywhere near her. He wasn't suppose to exist.

Okay, so she didn't think he was dead. She had known he was alive, somewhere, she just had never expected him to cross her path again, _ever._

She slowly moved around him, taking pictures, careful to keep the camera in front of her face. She maneuvered so that she could get a good shot of him. He _would_ make a good picture, so casual, so comfortable, so, honestly, beautiful. She got the picture and left. He hadn't looked up; that was good.

He did look up, though, at her retreating back. Her long red hair reached to her waist and there was somthing about way the she walked in those loose fitting jeans of hers that reminded him of someone he had once known. His afternoon was shot. He stood up, gathered his things, and left. Wine wasn't going to cut it anymore. He needed to find his friend and get drunk. He always did this when he was reminded Ginevra Weasley. He was certain that the girl he had seen was someone else entirely, but he missed Ginevra. Why had his friend been such an idiot? Curse that blond, he would get drunk alone. It was all the blond headed dolt's fault Ginevra had left. She had been the only family he had ever known and she was gone because _he_ had been a fool. He would rather be with her somewhere missing his best friend than with his best friend missing his sister, but no, she refused to let him go with her because _he_ shouldn't be alone. Blast him! Why did he have to be more emotionally unstable than she was? Why did she have to be able to take care of herself? Why couldn't she be like most women scorned and despise the man? Why did she have to care so blasted much about the man that had walked away from her? Why? Because she was Ginevra Weasley, that's why, and he was Draco Malfoy and she was afraid he would do something stupid like disappear forever if he was left alone. Well, wasn't that what she had done? Disappear forever? Why was he more deserving of a friend than she was? Well, she could make new friends, and it was pretty certain that Draco could not. What was the point of getting drunk? He'd still miss her when he sobered up, he'd remember why he had gotten drunk in the first place, and he'd have a hangover on top of everything. He gave up his day off and went in to work.

Draco watched Blaise enter the office and grab a few files before finding an empty room somewhere. It was his day off. That meant only one thing, a random red head had crossed his path. Draco sat down. Knowing his friend was trying to ignore the empty feeling she had left in their lives was enough to make it impossible for Draco to do the same. It was his fault, after all. He had been the one to walk away from her. But it never would have worked anyway, her family would have turned on her, he knew that. He also knew her family was the most important thing in the world to her, and he could not bring himself to be the reason she was torn from them. He didn't belong in her world and he knew, well, had hoped, that she would have been willing to leave that world and start a new life with him if he had asked. He simply could not allow that, so he had walked away. Not that Blaise had understood that. He had hoped _she _would have, though, but she had disappeared. Blaise couldn't find her anywhere. His owls always came back with the letter undelivered. Apparently her family had no idea where she was either. He assumed Blaise had asked, he and Bill had gotten on pretty well. There was no use trying to get work done now. He went to get drunk.

The red head had returned to her studio and developed her pictures immediately. Normally she would have waited until the next day but she had a picture to stare at. So there she sat, at her desk, staring a three pictures of the dark haired man in the park, when her assistant came in. The younger woman caught one glimpse of the photos her boss and friend was looking at before squealing.

"Did you get permission to use these?" She was bouncing up and down.

"No." The red head was confused. Why would she get permission, they were portraits, she never sold portraits.

"Oh," the girl's voice only dropped a little, "well, it's just that these are so _good_! Anyone would have bought them. Probably even _Time!_"

"What would _Time_ want with these?" She held the pictures up.

"Don't tell me you don't know who you've..." the girld seemed positively stunned, "That's BLANE ZAN! Only the second most elligible bachelor in the WORLD!"

"Blane Zan?" the red head raised an eyebrow, "and who is the _most_ elligible bachelor in the WORLD?" she asked with sarcastic enthusiasm.

The other girl rolled her eyes and sighed at the same time, she stared off into space before answering in a very dreamy voice, "Daniel Malcom. And they just arrived yesterday."

"Let me guess, Blane is a ladies man, a real heartbreaker, and Malcom is almost always in the shadows, the mystery every woman wants to solve." Her voice was dry and the other girl was surprised she knew so much about them when she didn't even know their names. She nodded in response.

The red head almost laughed, but then remembered what was happening. "You wouldn't know why they are in Rome, would you?"

"Hm?" the other girl was thoroughly confused. "Oh, business. Apparently one of thier companies is forming a partnership with another company headquartered here.

"And how _long_ are they supposed to be here?" The red head was starting to panic.

"Three weeks, unless they are delayed for some reason. Why?" She had just now noticed her friend's strange interest, and draining color.

The red head didn't answer, she was distractedly looking at her calendar and freaking out. "That's a masque ball, two charity events, four teas, and formal dinner!" She sat back in her chair, continueing to talk to herself. "The masque won't be so bad. I can get out of the auction, but I volunteered to photograph the picnic. I suppose I can hide behind the camera most of time, I hope. The teas though, I can only cancel two of them, maybe they won't go to those? But the dinner! There is no way out of that and they are bound to be there..." Her voice trailed off.

"Jennifer?" the other girl was starting to worry. "Who are these men, really?"

The red head looked up. Her face was devoid of color. "Who? Oh, no one, I mean... They... they were in the war. Nothing to worry about, on our side, but...Sarah please, you have to help me find out if they are going to be at those teas!"

Sarah really was worried. Jennifer never talked about the war. All Sarah knew, having been in South Africa at the time, was that most of Wizarding Western Europe had been involved in a large war, that had even effected the muggles, centered in Britain, where Jennifer was from. Jennifer had been involved, deeply involved, and had moved to Italy when it was over to escape, well, to escape something. Jennifer Wells obviously wasn't her real name, but she had never told Sarah what it had been before and Sarah knew better than to ask. If Sarah wondered why Jennifer's family never came to visit and why Jennifer never went to visit them, or why there were no letters, or why they were never brought up, well, she wisely kept that to herself as well. But it seemed that the inevitable had finally happened, _someone_ from her past had finally showed up in Rome.


	2. The Masque

Chapter Two: The Masque

"Now look," Sarah was using an authoritative voice, "You are gorgeous. There is no way two Blokes from your past are going to recognize you tonight. You're hair is blond, after all, so you have no reason to be nervous." She was putting the finishing touches on her own costume. "And don't forget," she turned to Jennifer, "you promised to put that thing down," she indicated the camera, "for three full dances."

Jennifer just nodded. She wasn't worried that they would recognize her, not really. She had charmed her hair blond and everyone who _did_ recognize her, which would be everyone due to the camera, would call her Jennifer or Ms. Wells. What she was worried about was what it would feel like to be in the same room as them again. She felt kind of guilty for cutting contact with Blaise but she had needed to. She had needed to start over. He had understood. They had talked about it in the last two letters they had exchanged. He understood her reasons and she understood that he would never stop looking for her everywhere he went or trying to send her letters. She just couldn't risk him accidently, or purposefully, leading _anyone_ to where she was.

Blaise was standing in front of the mirror adjusting his tie. "Don't forget, you gave me your word that you would dance with three girls." He turned to Draco, who was lounging against the desk, waiting.

"Whatever, can we just get this over with?" Draco hated being paraded around for everyone to see. He hated the tabloids. He hated the publicity. If he wanted all of this he could just go home and live in the wizarding world.

"Fine," they made their way out of the room. "I only do this for you." He was refering to the required social involvement.

"Right, and it has nothing to do with the fact that if I stop making public appearances they will dig deeper into our past to get their story than we want them to go."

"Well, there is that..." Blaise's tone was light and care free. Everyone knew they had just appeared out of nowhere nine years ago and, at the age of eighteen, taken the business world by storm. No one knew where they had gone to school, or if they had. Actually, no one knew anything about them before nine years ago, and as long as they kept up appearances it seemed as though the press liked it better that way, added to the mystery, the intrigue, the appeal. However, if they ever went too long without giving them something to talk about, like a new girl or a new take over, rumors about their past started cropping up to fill the silence.

The ball was wonderfully bright and brilliantly gorgeous, as all charity balls should be. Draco, or Daniel rather, was almost blinded by the time they got inside by all the photographers lining the walk. Blaise, or Blane, hadn't seemed to noticed. They were practically swormed by women as soon as they set foot in the door. Draco slowly made his escape. He would dance those three dances later.

Jennifer and Sarah had gone in the back to escape the press. Sarah still couldn't figure out why, but she always agreed to sneaking in. She went off to have fun, but not before reminder her friend about her promise.

Jennifer began taking pictures. She moved around the dance floor capturing the swirling colors. She passed the buffet, getting some really good candid shots of people laughing and eating. She made her way up to the cat walk about to get some shots from above.

"You must be good." She heard someone drawl from the shadows behind her.

She didn't answer. She should have known he would be up here.

He moved to the railing beside her and looked down to where her camera pointed. "I mean, if you are priveleged enough to take pictures inside while the rest of the press has to remain outside. Did your paper buy an exclusive or something?"

"Or something." She always took pictures, everyone knew that. If she was invited somewhere her camera came with her. Of course, she always gave those who organized the event an opportunity to veto photos before she sold them, so she wasn't lying, she just didn't work for a paper. "What are you doing up here anyway? The party is down there."

She stopped taking pictures and lowered her camera and just watched the dancing below her. She had gotten a great shot of the lights and colors and movement beneath her framed by the dark cat walk on all sides.

He looked at her for a moment. She was dressed as Aurora in the blue dress from the Disney movie Sleeping Beauty. She was beautiful. He sighed and turned back to the floor below. "Never seem to belong down there." His voice was far away.

Her heart ached for him. It was her turn to survey him. He was dressed as the Phantom of the Opera. "So you're running away?" She wasn't teasing him, she was serious, and it made him uncomfortable.

Fortunately for him they were interrupted before he could have time to answer. "There you are! Come back down stairs right now! You promised three dances and if you don't put that thing down now you'll find a way to weasel out of them." Sarah had come looking for her friend.

Draco smirked for a second, so he wasn't the only one running away. Then something hit him, the 'weasel out' comment. Why had that bothered him? Oh yeah. He _wasn't_ going to think about her, not now. He made his way down stairs as well.

Blaise caught sight of him descending and moved over to his friend. He had seen a fairy climb up and back down followed by Sleeping Beauty. The fairy had almost instantly demanded that Sleeping Beauty hand over the camera she had around her neck and they moved off a ways. So there was someone at this affair that had something in common with Draco.

Draco stood there a moment before Blaise reached him from the other side of the hall.

"Dance with Sleeping Beauty and I'll let you out of the other two." Draco raised an eyebrow but nodded and moved off to find the princess.

Sarah saw the Phantom moving toward them. She hadn't seen him on the catwalk, he had been in a shadow, but she decided that he would be perfect for Jennifer's first dance anyway. Had she recognized him, she never would have insisted on the dance, but she honestly had not heard that the Phantom was really Daniel Malcom and his mask and hair style really did render him hard to recognize from a distance. "There, that man there. He's coming to ask you to dance, I can tell. You are _going_ to accept!"

Jennifer tried to inform her friend as to the man's identity but Sarah was already gone and it was more trouble than it was worth to refuse the man and _then_ deal with Sarah. Besides, there was no way he would recognize her and she would get to feel his arms around her again. Oh! she was pathetic! But right now she didn't care. Right now she was drunk on the atmosphere around her and decided why not?

He bowed low to her, "May I have this dance?"

She curtsied, "It would be my pleasure."

They made their way out to the dance floor. "You lied to me." Was his tone teasing?

"I did not."

"You implied that you were a photojournalist here on assignment. Your friend seems to think otherwise."

"My friend never minds her own business. Besides, everyone knows I bring my camera everywhere, that's half the reason I get invited."

"And the other half?"

"I have the money to pay for the ticket." Her words were blunt, but she had picked up the light tone he was using.

He grew slightly more tense and she could feel it in his hands and on his shoulder where she held him as they waltzed. "Is there a reason you chose Sleeping Beauty?" He was being serious!

"Excuse me?" she was confused.

He looked down at her and met her eyes, "Are you waiting for Prince Charming to come and wake you?" He was asking her the same thing she had asked him upstairs and the way he had done so was too accurate.

"What about you? Are you really as dark as you appear or are you waiting for someone to see through the pain and teach you to live in the light?" She had been refering to his costume, but her question was too much to the point.

They were both stiff now and finished the dance in silence, but for some reason they could not break eye contact. When the music stopped they stood for a moment, just staring at each other, before he bowed. "I apologize, my question was out of line."

"As was mine." She inclined her head.

"Would you like a drink?" He asked, offering her his hand.

She nodded, took his hand, and they made thier way to the drink table. They sipped their drinks in silence before he asked her for another dance. Neither of them spoke another word and simply danced until the music stopped and someone was on stage.

"I want to thank you all..." Draco turned to watch the host. He knew what was coming, but he wasn't sure if he wanted the girl to know whom she had been dancing with. For all he knew she would freak out and start fawning over him. He doubted it, but you never knew. He didn't get the chance to find out however, because as soon as he had turned away from her she had dashed off. When he realized that he was standing there alone he grew angry. Why had she left like that? She could have at least said goodnight.

He found Blaise. "I'm leaving!" His tone was dark and firm. Blaise just nodded. He knew better than to argue.


	3. This Can't Be Happening

* * *

A/N: yes, i will explain what happened to them as the story unfolds. i'm so glad you all seem to like this one, it is quite a bit different than the other i wrote. thank you so much for the reviews

* * *

Chapter Three: This Can't be Happening...

As soon as Draco had left Blaise went to go find the faery he had seen earlier. He finally located her.

"Excuse me," he got her attention. She froze. She couldn't believe who was talking to her!

"My friend, I believe, danced with a friend of yours earlier."

She froze again, if that was possible. She did _not_ make her friend dance with the mystery man from her past, did she?

"She was dressed as Aurora and was carrying that camera," he pointed the camera in Sarah's hands, "before you took it away from her."

She _had_! Jennifer was going to kill her. She just nodded.

"It seems she left before the masks were removed and my friend failed to get her name..." he smiled.

His smile was Sarah's downfall. Before she could think she said "Jennifer Wells" and quickly put her hand over her mouth and closed her eyes. She could her him chuckle. She opened her eyes and saw him look up from the floor and back at her. She sighed, there was nothing for it now, besides, it might end up being the right thing to do. "Would you like her number?"

He shook his head. "No thank you, I know how to reach her." So Draco had been dancing with his favorite artist and hand't even known it. This could get interesting. There wasn't a wall in Draco's flat that didn't have a Jennifer Well's photograph hung on it. Sarah nodded and all but stopped breathing when he took her hand and bowed to kiss it. "I am forever in your debt." He smiled again and walked off. No wonder half of the world's women were in love with him.

Blaise told Draco what he had learned later that night.

"Her studio is right here in Rome."

"It would be, this is where she lives." Draco was trying to ignore his friend.

"You were planning on visiting it anyway..." Blaise was trying to get his friend to respond.

"Not anymore. She walked off without so much as a goodnight. I have no desire to ever see her again." More anger than he had intended found its way into his words.

Blaise was actually encouraged by the anger, that meant he had been attracted to the girl and that hadn't happened since Ginny. "Well, then go tell her off."

"You know what?" Draco stood, "I think I will!" He moved toward the door.

Blaise laid a hand on Draco's shoulder. "It's two in the morning, mate, better wait until tomorrow."

Draco nodded absently.

The next day Draco found the little studio/gallery that belonged to one of the most famous photographers in the world. He stood outside the door for a full five minutes before entering. A woman was sitting at a desk in the front that he recognized as the faery from the night before.

He cleared his throat to get her attention and she dropped her pencil when she looked up. "Is Ms. Wells in?" He asked as politely as he could. She nodded and pressed a button on the phone.

"Jennifer, you have a visitor here who wishes to speak with you." She looked back up at Draco and tried to smile, failing miserably.

Finally a voice was heard over the speaker phone, "Very well, I'm in the office." Sarah pointed to a door behind her and to the left. Draco nodded and moved that way.

He knocked on the door and heard a faint "Come in." When he did so she barely held back a scream. "Please sit down." Her voice was very forced. So she had recognized him last night. "What can I do for you?"

For his part, when he had opened the door, he had barely held back a curse. She had waist length red hair and a spattering of freckles across her nose. She was the perfect height too. Fortunately, to his mind, there was no possible way she could have any connection to the woman from his past and he wrote it off as a horrible coincidental resemblance. "You left without saying goodnight." He knew he sounded lame, but what could he do now? Even if things had been perfect the night before he would never be able to persue a woman that look so much like _her_.

"About that..." Jennifer began, but she was interrupted.

Sarah's voice could be heard over the phone. "There's a delivery for you."

"Sign for it yourself." Jennifer sounded aggitated.

"They won't let me." Sarah sounded apologetic.

Jennifer sighed. "I'll be right out." She looked around the room and back at Draco. "Don't touch anything," she ordered before leaving.

When she got back she found him looking at the first page of a black photo album that been on her shelf. She grabbed it out of his hands. "GET OUT!" She was yelling at him! "GET OUT!"

"I was just..."

"I don't care what you were just!" Her voice was lower, but it was furious. "I told you not to touch anything!"

He left the office but stood beside Sarah's desk. "May I see the gallery?" He looked at Sarah, ignoring the irrate woman behind him.

"NO!" Jennifer answered him. "Get out!"

"Is that anyway to treat a customer?" He was getting angry now as well. No one spoke to him like this. He had only looked at an album!

"You are not a customer! I will never sell anything to you! If I ever learn who represents you on our client list I will not sell to them either! I never want to see your face in this gallery again! Get out!"

She was being completely unreasonable! Draco face grew stoney and he left in a high temper.

He ranted and raved to Blaise when he returned. Blaise just listened silently until he actually got to the part where he confessed what he had done.

"She did all of that because you looked at one photo album?" Blaise was worried. Draco had mentioned red hair and he had immediately thought about the photographer in the park. It wasn't possible! It couldn't be possible!

"Yes..." Draco started to go off again but Blaise interrupted him.

"What did it look like?" All color had left his face.

"It was black leather of some sort..." Draco was confused.

"Could it have been...could it have been dragon hide?" Blaise was actually shaking.

Draco's eyebrow went up. "I suppose, you aren't suggesting that..." He didn't have a chance to finish his sentence because Blaise had disappeared, literally. He had apparated.


	4. Renunion

Chapter Four: Renunion

Blaise appeared in an alley beside the gallery. He walked around front and tried to compose himself. He entered and sauntered over to Sarah. "Is Jennifer Wells in?"

Sarah gulped audibly. "I...I don't think it's such a good idea..." She looked guiltily down the hall that led to the studio. Blaise didn't wait for anything else, he just walked down the hall. Sarah tried to call him back but gave up. She called Jennifer instead. "Um, Jennifer? Blane Zan is on his way back..." she winced at the strangled scream that answered her.

Blaise entered the studio and saw a slender red head staring out a window that overlooked a side street. He cleared his throat. He didn't see her face before it was buried in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her. "I never would have made him ask you to dance if I had known, much less send him here."

She nodded into his shoulder. Eventually she pulled back, wiped the tears off her face, and said, "I know."

He smiled at her. "It is good to see you, though."

She smiled back at him, albeit weakly and nodded before getting a pained look on her face.

"Lunch?" He asked. Again, she only nodded.

Sarah almost fell out of her chair when she saw them come out. He had his arm around her and she looked so small and weak, a way Sarah had never seen her, but at the same time she also seemed happier than ever. "We'll be back when we're back," Blaise informed the assistant with a smile. She nodded weakly.

"It was the photo album that clued me in," Blaise explained, "that and red hair."

"It wasn't the photos, not really. I mean, he would have recognized me from them eventually. There are a few pictures of you in there somewhere. It was just, if he turned the page, well, the second thing in that book is the letter. I could have dealt with him recognizing me, I think, but I just panicked when I saw how close he was to reading that." They were eating at a little side walk cafe, and she was talking more to her tea than to him.

"I figured as much. You wouldn't have danced with him if you were too paranoid about him figuring out who you are." He paused to take a sip of wine and a bite of bread. They were still waiting on their food. "I still wish you would let me give it to him."

She looked up. "You still have it?"

"Don't sound so surprised." He pulled a picture out of his pocket. "I always have it with me. I guess I've been waiting for some sign that I should give it to him despite your order and wanted to be able to do so immediately." He put it back. "Why won't you let me give it to him?"

"You know why." She started picking apart a piece of bread.

"No, I don't. I don't even know why you left. I understand that you felt you needed to and that was enough for me to let you, but I still don't know _why_ you felt that way."

She looked up again. "There was nothing for me. There was no reason to stay." She looked confused.

'Not London!" He was getting agitated. "Me! Why did you feel the need to leave _me_?"

She lowered her eyes. "Because...because you would always be with him. Because whenever you would get a letter from me you would get mad at him. Because whenever you would get mad at him you would ask to give him the letter. Because he would know you were talking to me. Because he would leave you if you kept getting mad him for leaving me. Because you are the only friend he has. Because I have Sarah."

His face softened. "She doesn't know anything that happened, does she?"

She shook her head. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin. He sighed.

"That picture is his favorite, you know."

She looked back up.

"He has a print in his wallet. He has a print in his office. He sits and stares at it whenever he thinks about you. He has an albulm, a lot like yours actually, in which he has collected all of his favorite prints. The first one is _that_ picture. Every wall in his flat has at least one picture of yours on it, usually more than one." His eyes were so full of concern. "Gin, you deserve to have a friend that understands as much as he does."

"Can we not talk about him anymore?" He swore to himself as he saw a familiar wall erect itself behind her eyes.

"Sure." So instead they caught up on each other's lives. There was nine years of stories to tell. They took two hours and they still weren't done so they agreed to meet again on the weekend and spend Saturday together. She would show him the town. He would see Rome the way Romans did.

He walked her back to the studio and showed him around. He looked at all her newest prints in the gallery, perused some of her sketchbooks, and flipped through some of her paintings in her studio. "Why don't you ever publish any of your other stuff?"

"What? The paintings?"

"Yeah, or the charcoals, pastels, pencils, mixed mediums..." he let his voice trail off as he turned toward her.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Those are personal. They're my version of a diary."

"And your photography isn't?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh!" She had found a way out of this. "I have something for you!" She raced to office and returned with a handful of pictures. "You might like these."

He flipped through them. There were three of him in the park. So it _had_ been her. There were also a few from the ball. There was one of him talking with about three women. There was one of him dancing. There was one of him eating; he laughed when he saw that one. Then he got to a picture of Draco. His smile faded. There was one of Draco up on the catwalk, half hidden in shaddows. She had taken it while she was still on the way up, before he had known she was there. There were two of him standing in the crowd after descending from the catwalk before Blaise had gotten to him. One was developed the wizarding way, everyone in the photo moved except Draco, all he did was turn his head every now and then to watch the people swirling by him. The other was developed the muggle way with extended exposure, everything around him was a blur of color, but he had moved so little during that time that he was almost completely in focus. Blaise looked up Ginevra.

She shrugged. "He was too photogenic to pass up." Blaise nodded and pocketed the photos.

"Thanks. They're wonderful. You know, I'm surprised I didn't recognize you through your photography." He was suddenly thoughtful. "All of Draco's favorites either recall times you were together, emotions anyone from the war would have felt, or a loneliness, a..sort of...distance from the world, that the two of you share." He saw the look on her face grow dark. "Anyway, I better get going, I kind of just disappeared on him." With that he disapparated.


	5. The Picnic

Chapter Five: The Picnic

When Blaise showed Draco the pictures from the ball he sat down. "She's good." Was all he said.

Blaise noticed something on the back of one picture in Draco's hand. "Turn those over, I think she wrote something..."

Draco did as he was told. On the back of the picture of him in the shadows was a note: "I'm sorry I behaved so rudely. The album you held in your hands was very personal. It holds quite a few photos I have never released to the public, photos no one else has ever seen because they are too real, too dear to my heart. I was afraid you had seen a side of me no one has seen for many years. It is no excuse. Please stop by the gallery any time you wish and you will receive any print you desire as recompense." He looked up at Blaise, clearly amazed.

He looked back at the photos. On the back of the muggle photo in which he was surrounded by a blur of color he read: "I left without notice because I was afraid. Your question was too accurate and the anonymity too comfortable. You were too perfect in your reflection of my heart. I saw in you the way I felt. I knew the honesty would end when the masks were removed and I wanted to remember that night as a faery tale. I could not let reality mar the evening. I am sorry if I offended you."

Again, he looked up at Blaise. "What did you say to her?"

Blaise shrugged. "I went to apologize for your abominable behavior, going through her personal things, _honestly!_, and she gave me those," he indicated the pictures. It wasn't a lie. There had been two hours in the middle, but it wasn't a lie.

Draco nodded and stared at the photographs.

Finally Blaise couldn't take it anymore. "She said she wouldn't use them without permission." Draco nodded again and continued to stare. Blaise was about to leave when Draco looked up.

"Is she going to the charity picnic?"

Blaise grinned to himself before turning back to his friend with a straight face. "Why? You aren't. You begged out of that one, remember?"

Draco ran his hand through his hair. He really shouldn't do this. It would only make him think of Ginny. "If she'll be there, I'll...I'll go." He got up and left.

Blaise grinned like a cheshire cat. He called Sarah.

"No, I don't think it would be a good idea to tell her he's going to be there."

"But she'll kill me if she finds out I knew."

"Then we won't let her find out. Say, if she's there, does that mean you will be too?"

"I wasn't planning on it, why?"

"Just curious. Why not?"

"I'm not invited and I get tired of going as her guest. Why?"

"Well, you could go as _my_ guestfor a change..."

"Sarah?"

"Um...I'm not sure she'd like that..."

"I'll take care of her, she's a sucker for my puppy dog face. What do you say?"

"O...okay, if you're sure it won't upset her."

"I'm not the one she's avoiding. It'll be fine. I'll pick you up at eleven if you'll tell me where."

"It doesn't start until noon..."

"I kow."

Blaise was having what you would call a good day.

The charity picnic was a big event. Everyone who went bought a $300 ticket. There was a ton of food and a lot of games. Jennifer Wells was to photograph the whole thing. Celebrities playing the egg toss, three legged race, pie eating contests, that ridiculous game where you hold an orange to your chest with your chin and pass it without hands, sack races, and every other small town festival game you can think of. Afterwards Jennifer Wells' photgraphs would be sold as prints and as a collection, all proceeds also went to the charity.

She arrived early and took a few pictures of everyone setting up and waited to get pictures of the arrivals. Blaise and Sarah were first to show up. Ginevra met them with a very serious expression on her face. "Blaise..."

"Don't start, mother, I'll take good care of her." Blaise bowed to his old friend and then kissed Sarah's hand.

Ginevra looked unsure but finally said, "You better," and then smiled in an amused manner. She pulled him aside a little later. "If you hurt her I hurt you, got it?" Blaise nodded. It was that moment that Draco arrived. She had thought that since Blaise arrived without him he wouldn't be there. No such luck. Blaise saw her tense up.

"Relax," he whispered before rejoining Sarah.

Draco approached Ginevra and nodded to her camera, "You here for business or pleasure?"

She laughed nervously. "Surely you read your invitation? I'm going to photograph everything and sell them for the charity. You consent by your presence." She lifted an eyebrow and waited, slightly amused, for his reaction.

"You're telling me that you are going to take pictures of the rest of us embaracing ourselves with these ridiculous games?" She nodded. "But you get to escape, not only record but also playing, because _you're_ the famous photographer?" She nodded again, giggling. "Hm, do you need an assistant?" He looked hopeful and playful at the same time.

Something in her caught. He was flirting with her. So many emotions... She was flattered. She was hurt that he was capable of doing so with anyone but her, and since he didn't know it was her, he was fliriting with someone other than her. She was scared, what if he found out? She was paranoid, what if he already knew? She wanted to cry, it reminded her of so long ago... She pushed all that away and was surprised to realize she was already speaking. "We...ll, I will probably need someone to make drink runs for me, and hold my drink while I shoot... I might need someone to shade the camera," she looked up at the sky, "and perhaps me," she looked back at him with a grin. She pretended to be thinking seriously. "But I run into a problem... All of the tabloids will know you were here, and if I don't have any pictures of you available they'll probably lynch me..."

"How about a compromise. I keep you company and act as your valet and you let me chose what games I play and what pictures I'm in." He leaned in conspiratorily.

She pondered a moment before laughing and offering her hand. "You have a deal." He shook it.

They spent the day together. He found Blaise and they did the three legged race together and later the egg toss. Fortunately for him the egg burst on Blaise. With his obligations to participation taken care of he relaxed considerably. "So why photography?" He asked as she took a brilliant photograph of a super model with her face in a pie.

She lowered the camera and thought while she located her next shot. "Well, the war was over and I had lost everything. My entire family was gone," it was close to the truth, "and I was staying with a friend. I found this wonderful cliff." She took a picture of the winner. "It was perfect. It said everything I felt. The waves crashing against the rocks at its feet, the lone tree that stood on top of it, it was the perfect picture of loneliness and pain." She turned to him. "So I went out and got a camera and took a picture of it. I never wanted to forget it and I knew I couldn't stay there forever, now it will always be there when I need it." She started toward the field where the sack race was going to begin in fifteen minutes.

"You released that photo, didn't you?" The sat beneath a tree on the edge of field to wait. She nodded and hugged her knees.

"Anyway, photography became my way of living. If I have a camera between me and the world I can go anywhere, face anything. If something touches me I take a picture of it." She turned to face him again. "Say I see a family playing in the park and it makes me smile. If I take a picture of it I can feel like I'm one of them. I can look back at the picture and feel the joy they were experiencing. I become part of their world. Say I'm hurt. I find a shot that encompases how I feel and I take it. I put all of my pain into that picture and it is no longer mine; I have distanced myself from it." She stared out before her. "When I have a camera I don't have to be a part of anything. I don't have to feel anything." She met his eyes. "It's the only way I could survive."

Their eyes held for a moment before he broke contact. "I guess it's the same with me and work. As long as there is a form to fill out, a meeting to attend, a problem to solve, or a merger to orchastrate I don't have to live. If there is work there is no room for emotion."

"Were you there for the war?" She knew the answer, but she figured it would make sense for a stranger to ask, and she wanted to hear how he would answer.

"Yes." He had gone cold. "It took everything." He shook himself and looked back to her, "Shall we? I think we have enough time to grab some watermellon before the race." His voice was just a little too cheery, but she understood.

"Only if I can take a picture of you eating it." She had an impish gleem in her eye.

"Fine!" he utilized a comically exasperated tone of voice to make her laugh as he helped her up.

Everything went fine until it was time to say goodnight. She had enjoyed her afternoon. She had even managed to forget who they were for most of it. It was when he asked her to dinner that everything crashed around her ears. She just froze. He asked again.

"I...I...I don't think that would be such a good idea."

"Why not." He was confused. Why did she look so uncomfortable. "Is there someone that would object?"

Her eyes got wide as she realized what he was thinking. "NO!" she quickly answered "But..."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I...I...just..." she actually started to cry. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have... You don't know... That picture... Blaise..." she ran off in tears. Blaise and Sarah had been approaching and saw her run off. Blaise motioned with his head that Sarah should follow her. Sarah nodded and did so.

Draco just stood there. He was in shock. She had used the name Blaise. She knew who they were. How did she know? She couldn't be...

Blaise interrupted his thoughts. "What happened?" He sounded genuinely concerned.

"She...she knows your name..." Draco eyes were still unfocused. Blaise put his hand to his forehead. Draco pulled himself out of it. "I asked her to dinner and she froze. She seemed terrified by the prospect. Then she started apologizing, said something about I didn't know, the picture, and then said your name. What is going on?"

Blaise sighed. "I have to talk to her before I can answer that."

"You bloody well better tell me something _now_!" Draco was getting angry, he didn't want to think what he was thinking.

"She worked for the Order. She lost everything. I let her stay at my estate for a few weeks while she figured out where to go. I don't know why she refused dinner with you. If you'll let me talk to her I'll find out." Blaise sounded exhausted. He hadn't lied. Everything he said was true. There were a million reasons why she would have panicked and run.

Draco nodded curtly and walked away. "I'll see you back at the hotel then."

As soon as he had stepped foot in the park he had stopped thinking. He had decided to forget the past and try to move on like Blaise said. He regretted it. Blaise hadn't said anything about the girl's identity. It could still be her. He would recognize her though, wouldn't he? Not if he had convinced himself it was impossible. This is what happens when you stop thinking. This is what happens when you let yourself live. You get hurt and you hurt others. He still didn't know what he had done to the girl but he had done something. If only her pictures weren't so perfect, if only he didn't find himself so perfectly explained in her photography, if only he had never left Ginevra...


	6. Memories of Goodbye

Chapter Five: Memories of Goodbye...

Ginevra went to her studio, there were things to distract her there. At home she would only think. At home she would remember. She didn't want to remember.

She had let go at the picnic. She had forgotten. The look in his eyes when he asked her to dinner brought everything back. That look was supposed to _hers!_ It was supposed to belong to Ginevra Weasley, but he had been looking at Jennifer Wells with those eyes. She had thought he was as stuck in the past as she was. Apparently she was wrong. He had moved on. She needed to move on. She couldn't. She loved him and she would always love him. She couldn't let him fall in love Jennifer Wells. She couldn't continue to be someone else. She couldn't tell him either. What was she going to do?

It had been nine years since he had left. It had been nine years since he had turned his back on her.

_The war was over. The last battle had been fought and won. They were free. She had gone to meet him at the place they had agreed upon months ago, a quiet clearing by a brook in a forest somewhere in Scotland. He had found it on a mission and had shown it to her through legillimancy, she was quite a legillimens now. She heard a noise behind her and turned to face him. He took her in his arms and they held each other as if their lives depended on it, as if they would never let go._

_"I can't stay." His face was buried in her hair._

_She jerked back and looked at him. "What?"_

_He turned away from her. "I can't stay here. I can't stay in your world."_

_"Why not?" She was confused, and scared._

_"I don't belong here. There isn't a place for me." He turned back to her. His eyes were so hollow, so far away._

_She started to cry. "You do belong here! You belong with me! Isn't that enough? We'll find a place! We'll make a place for us, for just the two of us!"_

_He shook his head and she crumbled to the ground. It broke his heart. He wanted to go to her and hold her, but he knew if he did he would never leave. He had to leave. "I'm sorry. It just won't work." With that he had walked away. He left her there, crying, all alone._

_"He told me where to find you." Blaise sounded as though they had just _lost_ the war. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, but she had stopped crying._

_"Why would he do that?" She still hadn't looked up._

_"Because, believe it or not, he loves you." Blaise sat down next to her._

_She jerked her head up. 'THEN WHY DID HE LEAVE!"_

_"I don't know." There was silence. "You didn't tell him, did you?"_

_"When would I have told him, as he was walking away? Oh, by the way, that world you say you don't belong in, yeah, well, I'm not sure I do anymore either." Her tone was bitter. "Besides, I haven't been back yet. I don't what they'll do."_

_"Do you want me to come with you?" He wrapped an arm around her._

_"No. I better go back alone." She laughed bitterly. "Maybe if they know he broke my heart they'll forgive me?" She almost looked hopeful, but mostly pained._

_"Maybe," was all he could think of to say. They just sat there until it grew dark. "If you find yourself needing a friend, or a place to stay, you know where to find me." _

_She nodded. It was time to go home, time to find out if she _had_ a home anymore._

She fumbled with her keys, trying to unlock the door to the gallery. Would he have stayed if he had known how her family would react? Would he have stayed if he had known she was all alone without him? She wondered if Blaise had ever explained why she had left her family. For that matter, did he know she had left her family?

Blaise had caught up with Sarah just outside the park before she had caught up with Ginevra. He told her to go home and he'd call her in the morning. He reached the gallery just as Ginevra broke down, unable to find the right key through her tears. He gently took the keys from her and let them in.

"Does he know? Does he know I left home?"

"He knows we don't write each other."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure."

He led her back to her studio where she had a couch and they sat down.

"He doesn't know what happened."

"No."

She looked up at him with all the pain and hurt and loneliness of nine years in her eyes. "But it was proved! I was proved right! We were proved right! He was proved true! How could they still... Why couldn't they... THEY WERE THE ONES THAT BETRAYED _HIM!_" She got up and started pacing, gesticulating wildly. "If there had been a question, fine! But there wasn't! It was obvious. There was no denying it. The diversion went off without a hitch. It couldn't possibly have worked without him on _our_ side! So WHY did they still call me a traitor and a fool? Why did they still run me off for having trusted him?" She turned and stared at Blaise with a very defeated expression. "Why did they turn me away for trusting a man who walked out of my life in order to _prevent_ them from turning me away? Why are we apart because he doesn't belong in a world I have no place in?"

"He didn't know."

"Do you have it with you?"

He pulled the picture out of his pocket and showed it to her.

"Give it to him."

He nodded.

He walked her home before returning to the hotel. He found Draco sitting on the couch staring at the picture of the cliff he had kept in his wallet. Blaise sat next to him and pulled out the picture he was finally free to deliver.

"This is for you."

"It's the cliff. I already have five copies."

"Turn it over."

_Draco,_

_You never let me say goodbye. You left before I could say goodbye. I don't know why I'm writing this. I will probably never allow Blaise to deliver it. Maybe I simply need to explain how I feel whether you ever hear or not. I do not belong anywhere if you are not there. I have no world without you so I don't know what world you think of when you think you don't belong in it. I'm not in London anymore. I never will be again if I can help it. I had no home to go to after you left. I tried, hoping they would accept me again, but they did not. It was strange. I should have been angry. I should have been hurt. They were my family and they were turning me away. As they stood before me, though, all I saw was your back. As they spoke all I heard was your last words. I left them without looking back. Would you have left if you had known? Would you still be with me if you knew what they would do? _

_I have sent you Blaise. He will care for you as I cannot. I cannot bear the thought of you existing alone. I am sorry if he is hard on you, he does not understand why I am leaving him as well. If I stay in contact with him he will always attempt to get us back together and I do not want you facing that pressure. I do not want to strain your relationship with the one friend you have, so I sent him to you._

_I love you Draco. I always will. Rember that._

_Ginevra_

"WHAT HAPPENED!" Draco stood and stared down at his friend. "HER FAMILY TURNED HER AWAY? WHY!"

Blaise sighed and stood to look Draco in the eye. "Because she trusted you."

All color drained from Draco's face. "What do you mean?" His voice was deathly cold.

"Remember the Order member you had to kill to maintain your cover?" Draco nodded. "Well, no one believed that was the reason. Everyone believed you had either betrayed us or were never really on our side to begin with. It had been awefully hard to convince them we weren't death eaters in the first place and everyone who had doubted the decision to trust us used that action to prove they were at least half right. I stood up for you, obviously, but my opinion didn't matter and I had to adopt silence quickly or they would have turned on me as well. Ginevra defended you fiercely, though. She fought tooth and nail to convince them of the truth. She failed, miserably. They had decided it was safer just to cut the diversion entirely and leave you out there than risk walking into a trap. She refused to let it go. She argued until she was blue in the face the diversion was not only safe but necessary. They would not relent and ordered her to drop it. She got up and walked out. She was the one who helped you mount the diversion. Without her you would have been high and dry and a lot more lives would have been lost. It didn't matter that she had been right. It didn't matter that the diversion had obviously worked. It didn't matter that your loyalty and the value of your contribution were undeniable. They still turned on her. They still refused to accept her back. When she returned home they called her a traitor. They called her a traitor and told her she had no place there."

Draco disapparated.


	7. The Truth

Chapter Six: The Truth

Blaise disapparated immediately behind his friend, certain of where he had gone. Sure enough, as he arrived in the Burrow's front lawn he could see Draco storming toward the door. He didn't even bother trying to stop the irrate man, why would he? He had been wanting to do this for nine years.

Draco didn't even knock, he just burst through the door. It was his lucky day. Harry Potter stood and pointed his wand at the intruder immediately. Ron Weasley stepped in front of Hermione Granger. Molly Weasley put her hand to her chest in surprise.

"Who in Merlin's name do you think you are?" Draco's voice was pure, loathsome, ice.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy!" Harry demanded.

Draco rounded the table and punched Harry. "You sent her away? You turned her out and sent her away?" Ron had been about to hex Draco but froze. "She probably saved your life by trusting me and you drove her off! And YOU!" He turned toward Ron. "You are supposed to be her brother! You are supposed to be the one that protects her from gits like that," he pointed to Harry, "But you turned on her too!" He sent a hex at Ron who flew back against the wall. "I left her! I walked away from her because I didn't want to come between her and her FAMILY! Little did _I_ know she didn't HAVE a family!" He had raised his voice but it dropped to a harsh whisper, "She has spent the last nine years alone because you were fools! You never deserved to have her in your lives but she loved you and you threw it all away." Molly was crying, Hermione had tears running down her face, and the boys were just staring. Draco disapparated.

Blaise lifted an imaginary hat at them all and once again followed his friend.

Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes was next. Draco apparated directly into their store with Blaise close behind. Blaise went to examine the merchandise as if they were on a day trip while Draco shouted for service.

"What do you think you're doing! We're..." Fred couldn't finish his sentence because he was up against the wall with Draco's hand at his throat. Before he could say anything, however, George spoke.

"Took you long enough! Nine years is a long time to watch our backs you know." Draco growled. Blaise ceased his browsing and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Fred managed to whisper, "Does this mean you know where she is?" Draco let his hand fall.

"Great," George continued, "listen for a second and then you can do whatever you want to us." Draco nodded.

"We were out on assignment when the whole debate about your loyalty took place." Fred began. Draco turned to Blaise who nodded his confimation.

"And we weren't back yet from the field when our brother dearest kicked her out." George continued.

"Bill, Charlie, Lupin, Tonks, and Snape were all away as well."

"Bill went ballistic when he returned."

"Almost killed Ron."

"Would have if we hadn't stopped him."

"Wanted to do it ourselves, you see."

"Unfortunately, everyone was so determined to have the personal pleasure it never got done."

"Even Lupin was so angry Harry avoided him for months."

"Yeah, and Hermione still can't look Tonks in the eye."

"Neither we nor Bill have spoken to mum or Ron since."

"Charlie keeps trying to convince us to patch it up."

"Says losing his sister is enough."

"Doesn't want to lose his mum too."

"We understand that, so we talk to him."

"But we just can't have anything to do with _them_."

"They still haven't apologized for it."

"Though we think mum might."

"If it weren't for Ron."

"So if you could just beat us to a pulp."

"And then tell us where our sister is."

"We would be grateful."

Draco looked at Blaise for a moment who shrugged. "I wasn't there when she went home so I don't know who else was or wasn't. I was too angry to find out after she showed up at the estate. She certainly seemed to be under the impression that _everyone_ felt the same way."

"She would be." George growled.

"Ron made sure of that." Fred spat.

Draco thought for a moment before nodding. He conjured up a copy of a Jennifer Wells print book and disapparated. Blaise nodded to the twins before following his friend for a third time.

They had gone back to the hotel. Draco was tired. He conjured four more of the photography books and looked at Blaise. "Yeah, I'll take them." Blaise knew what his friend wanted. Draco locked himself in his room and Blaise set out to deliver the books.

"Bill, this was left for you." Bill Weasley wiped sweat and dirt off his face before looking at the book that was being held out to him.

"Who left it?"

"Don't know, it was just on my desk. There's a letter to you in the front. Only read far enough to see your name."

Bill nodded and took the book. It had been a long day. They had almost missed three curses. Two men were in the infirmary. He sighed. He decided he would look at the book after he got something to eat, but he didn't get very far before two loud pops were heard directly in front of him and the twins were talking a mile a minute.

"We know where she is!"

"We are headed there now!"

"They brought you one too, did they?"

Bill almost dropped the book. "Who brought what! Wait! You know where _she_ is? Ginny?" They nodded.

Fred pointed at the book Bill was holding. "Draco and Blaise brought you a book."

Bill decided he would read the note now. "Bill, figured you might like this. Snape, the Lupins, and Charlie are all receiving a copy as well. Fred and George already have one. If I had known the truth nine years ago I never would have cut contact. I probably wouldn't have been able to stop her from leaving, but we would have been able to look for her together. Anyway, we know where she is now, and that is the important thing. Zabini (Zan)" Bill looked up at his brothers. Again, before he had time to speak, another pop was heard.

Charlie stood before them and held up his copy of the book. They all looked at each and nodded. Four red headed men apparated in the middle of the Colleseum. It was the only place in Rome they knew well enough to apparate to. None of them spoke Italian. None of them had the faintest idea where they were going. All they knew was that somewhere in this city their little sister had a photo gallery.


	8. Print Them!

Chapter Seven: Print Them!

Snape had been sitting at home enjoying a glass of wine before his fire when he heard someone apparate, knock, and disapparate at his front door. He opened the door cautiously, looked down, and picked up the book. He saw the photograph on the cover and the name beneath and was in Rome a second later.

Remus and Tonks had been eating a late dinner when they heard the same thing at their back door. Remus looked at his wife and then back at the door. He got up slowly and looked out the window before opening the door. He bent down, picked up the book, and spoke even before he was standing straight again. "We're going to Rome."

"Remus?"

He turned and held up the book. "It's Ginny." Tonks nodded and they both apparated.

Ginevra went in to the studio before dawn the next day. She set up her easel and began working with charcoals. Sarah came in at her usual hour, seven, and set about her work. She knew better than to disturb the other woman.

It took them all night, but the four red heads finally found a hotel with a concierge that spoke English and could direct them to the Jennifer Wells gallery. Granted, it had taken them three hours to find a way out of the Colleseum. Once at the hotel they decided to get a few hours sleep before going to see their sister and got a room.

Snape and the Lupins had apparated to the wizarding tourism center for the city and met each other there. They decided it would be best to wait until morning to find her and had gotten a room at a nearby hotel. The next day they set out early and made it to the gallery around eight.

Sarah looked up when they entered and almost fainted. She may not have been in Europe at the time, but she had read the books and seen the old papers. Three heroes of the Dark Lord's War had just entered the shop. This could not be good, not after the week Jennifer had just had.

"Is," Tonks looked down at the book in her hand to remind herself of the name, "Jennifer Wells in?"

Sarah stood up, glanced down the hall, and moved around the desk. "I really don't think that now is such a good time."

"Why?" Snape's voice made her cringe.

"You're from her past, aren't you?" Remus nodded. "I just think she's had enough of that recently."

Remus stepped forward. "You seem like a wonderful friend, to look out for her like this, and I am glad she has had someone like you. However, it really would be best if we could speak with her. She is under the impression that we are glad she left us nine years ago and nothing could be further from the truth. If we can only see her, explain..." He smiled a very tired smile.

Sarah looked at them all in turn. "Fine, but if you make her cry you'll face hexes the British have never heard of." Snape smirked; he had placed her accent as South African as soon as she spoke and did not doubt her words. "She's back in her studio. Go down that hall; it's the last door on the right." She moved back to her desk and they followed her directions.

Not five minutes after they had dissappeared into the studio four red heads entered the gallery. Sarah looked up at them, threw her pencil down so hard it snapped, and spoke tersely. "Here to see Ms. Wells?" They nodded, a bit confused as to if this women greeted all visitors this way. "I suppose you're from her past? I'd say by your red hair you're related?" They nodded again, so the others were already here. "Down the hall to the right." She opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out her wand as they quickly made there way down the hall.

"BLANE, BLAISE, WHATEVER YOUR NAME IS, YOU GET OVER HERE IMMEDIATELY AND EXPLAIN YOURSELF! NOW!" It was a short howler, but it got the point across. Blaise thanked Merlin he hadn't been in a meeting and was at the gallery as quickly as physically possible. Sarah just pointed down the hall toward the studio and glared at him.

When Snape, Remus, and Tonks entered the studio Ginevra turned and looked at them. She sighed, and turned back to her charcoal without a word. So that was his reaction, to reunite her with her family, or at least those that wanted to be reunited with her.

"Ginevra," Snape began but she interrupted him.

"You would have believed in him and supported me had you been there. You would have defended me and offered me a home had you returned in time. You have missed me terribly and are glad I am all right. I missed you too, and I am touched that came as soon as you heard, but I'm afraid I'm not in the mood for tears and hugs and explanations right now." Her voice was monotone.

They looked at each other, thoroughly concerned for the girl. Remus finally spoke. "If you knew, why did you leave?"

She set down the charcoal and studied her work. "Back then I was so emotional, so hurt that _anyone_ could feel that way that I was inclined to believe their insinuations. Once I had calmed down, though, I realized that everyone I had counted on to support me had been absent both times. I had not left yet and it was a very difficult decision to make. In the end it did not matter how many of you wanted me there, too many did not. No matter what, I would feel that hostility even if I did not see them often; I would know it was there. Add to that the emptiness I already felt and Britain became too painful to endure." She sounded so disconnected from everything she was saying that Snape was willing to bet she would have sounded more emotionally involved had she been describing the process of developing film.

By that time her brothers had arrived and entered the studio very cautiously. Sarah's greeting had them a little unnerved and they weren't sure what they would find. Whatever they were expecting, though, it was not three very uncomfortable friends who obviously had no idea what to say surrounding their sister who seemed to be completely unphased by their presence.

"Please relate to them what I have said for I don't feel like repeating myself." There was a hint of anger in her voice that only half of those in the room noticed. Bill looked from Snape to Remus and neither seemed to know where they anger had come from. Tonks set in to do as they had been asked and by the time she had finished Blaise had arrived.

It was his arrival that finally got a reaction out of Ginevra. She gently set her charcoal down and stood to face him. Her eyes were the only expressive feature, the rest of her body was completely impassive, but her eyes were swirling with emotion. "This is it? This is his reaction?" Blaise winced at the thought of what was coming. He hadn't had time to think last night, and even if he had there would have been no way to stop Draco, but this morning it had occurred to him that telling her family where to find her _before_ talking to her himself might not have been Draco's most brilliant move. "He doesn't come to see me. He doesn't come to talk to me. Oh no. He goes and tells everyone else where to find me! Did it ever occur to him that he is half of the reason I left? Did it ever occur to him that I might like a say in whether or not they know where I am?"

The others were starting to catch on and piece together the puzzle. "It wasn't his goal when he set out..." Blaise was trying desperately to find _some_ way to smooth this over and he was grasping at straws.

"Of course not. He set out to beat them all to a bloody pulp and learned what I've known since the day after I was turned out!" She pushed past everyone and walked to her office. Everyone followed her and waited in the hall while Blaise continued his attempts.

"You knew the day _after_, Ginevra, listen to yourself. He had never heard what happened. Last night, for him, was the same as _that day_ to you. If he had waited until this morning it probably would have occurred to him as well."

"He didn't wait, did he?" Her voice was ice and she was rummaging in her drawer for something.

"You know him, his temper is worse than yours if the offense is to someone he cares about."

"I don't care! He should have come to me! He should have been angry that I hadn't told him who I was or hurt that I never let you tell him what happened or something, anything that would have brought him to me _first!_" She had found what she was looking for, the pictures of him from the ball and one of him eating watermelon at the picnic that she had been planning to keep for herself.

"Ginevra, wait..." Blaise was panicking now. She couldn't do that, not now!

She walked out to Sarah's desk and threw the pictures down. "Print them." Sarah looked up at her boss and then over at Blaise.

This wasn't good. Ginevra only printed pictures she considered personal when she began to feel she had no right to hold on to the memories. She only printed pictures that encapsulated her pain when she had dealt with it and was moving on. Either way, this was not good. "But..."

"I want them printed." Sarah looked at Blaise again as if asking what she should do.


	9. Catching Up

Chapter Eight: Catching Up

"I want them printed." Sarah looked at Blaise again as if asking what she should do

Blaise grabbed Ginevra by the arm and turned her around. "Listen to me. You've had nine years to deal with what your family did and live with the irony of Draco's decision. He has not. He has only had one night. That's a lot to digest in nine hours. He hasn't even glanced _twice_ at a woman since he walked away from you and he was falling hard and fast for Jennifer Wells. I realize it may hurt to think about him falling in love with another woman, even after all of these years, but look at things from my perspective for moment. He didn't know it was you but it _was_! It doesn't matter what name you answer to, where you live, what you are doing, he simply loves you, _you_, your personality, who you _are_. Give him a chance. All I ask is one week. If you still want to publish those pictures in one week I won't say a word." He had looked her dead in the eye as he spoke; his tone had been soft but firm, and she had seen how deeply he cared.

She sighed. "You make two very good points. Fine, I'll wait a week, but if he walks away again you have to pick up the pieces because you're one who convinced me to hope."

He pulled her into a hug and held her tight. "If he walks away again I come with you this time." She nodded into his shoulder.

At long last he pulled away. "You have family here who has not seen you in nine years and would probably like to catch up with you. I at least knew your art before hand and so upon learning your identity had some idea what your life had been like. They do not seem to have that advantage. I'll leave you to them. I would love to stay but I am in this city on business and must attend to it." He turned to the others. "Terribly sorry for any confusion you may be experiencing, anything she cannot explain I will attempt to at a later time. Perhaps we could all have dinner? Have Sarah call my assistant to make arrangements; I really must get going." He shook hands with Snape before apparating.

Everyone stood in uncomfortable silence a few moments before Ginevra sighed, ran her hand through her hair, and spoke. "So, which book did they give you?"

"There's more than one?" Charlie sounded impressed.

"There are three, actually. Some of the prints are repeated, but most are not. Ah, you got the first one." Fred had held his up for her to see. "That's my favorite. I suppose it makes sense, that one is mostly of images that capture the sense of emptiness and loss most felt after the war. Have you had a chance to look through it?"

"Snape and we glanced through it last night, but nothing extensive. They are really quite impressive." Remus answered.

"We haven't really had a chance." Bill spoke for the Weasleys.

Ginevra nodded. "Well, if you'll come this way I'll show you my gallery. It has a few prints out of the collections that have remained best sellers, but mostly it is new work that has yet to published in book form." She led the way.

"You've made quite a name for yourself." Snape observed as they past a collection of framed reviews and articles hung in the hall.

"I suppose so. I guess when you live through your camera you cannot avoid capturing the true emotions, the essences of life. It seems that people appreciate having something on their wall that can lead them to recall the beautiful times in their own lives or assure them that they are not alone in the darkness."

"So the picture on the cover, is it significant or merely one of the most famous?" Tonks was still flipping through the book.

"That is 'The Cliff'' and it is the first picture I ever took. It is actually on Zabini property, back in his estate somewhere. I found it while staying with him before I left."

"Why _did_ you leave, if you knew not everyone felt the same. I still don't really understand." Charlie sat on a bench in the middle of the gallery and looked at the pictures on the wall.

Ginevra sighed again. "Perhaps it's best if I just tell the whole story," and she did. She began with how she had come to know Blaise and Draco while serving as their handler for the Order during the war, went through his departure, and finished with her giving Blaise permission to deliver the letter at long last.

"So there you have it. I left because I could not bear the thought of facing life without him. There was too much pain and I could not deal with it. I needed him and he was gone." She shrugged.

"But…" Bill sat next to her and began to ask a question. She raised a hand and he stopped.

"Why didn't I let Blaise tell him?" Bill nodded. "I guess I just wanted him to let me make my own decision. I wanted him to let me decide whether I would rather stand up to my family and beside him. I wanted him to see being with me as worth anything, but if he knew what had happened it would be entirely different."

Snape looked away from a print of the shot she took of the masque from the catwalk and turned to her. "That makes sense."

"Look, I can't take this anymore." Ginevra stood suddenly. "I haven't let myself experience this much emotion in nine years I find it exhausting. Let's go get something to eat and you all can take your turn and tell me what I've missed in _your_ lives. I can even take you on a tour of the city."

Everyone seemed to desire a change of mood as much as she did and the rest of the day was spent sight-seeing, eating, caching up, and laughing. Fred and George regaled those who had not been present with their adventure escaping the Coliseum after hours and Ginevra could barely breath she was laughing so hard.

They finally made their way back to her gallery and she let them all choose a favorite print. They were sitting around her studio eating take out and telling stories when Bill started flipping through some of her paintings against the wall. "How come you never sell any of these?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"Who else asked?"

"Blaise."

"Maybe because they're really good." Charlie had started looking at the paintings as well. Remus found a stack of her pencils.

"These are amazing, Gin. Not that your photography isn't. It most certainly is, but your work with texture is astounding."

"Well, how did you answer Blaise?" Tonks had joined her husband by the pencils.

"They are my version of a diary."

"And your photography isn't?" Fred was confused.

"That's what he said."

"Again, how did you answer him?" George asked.

"I changed the subject. I know better than to try that with you lot."

"Well?" Charlie was genuinely interested.

"When capturing my pain in a picture wasn't enough to distance myself from it I would paint. When an image of others' joy emphasized my loneliness too much I would draw. When the world around me is too real and yet too far away I pick up my pastels. When I can't think or concentrate or process anything I turn to charcoal. If photography is my way of keeping the world at arms length than brush and canvas or pen and paper is my way of reconnecting. Photography is who I should be, who I want to be, who I try not to be. These mediums here are who I am. Maybe someday, if I learn how to live again, if I learn how to face my fears again, if I become comfortable with who I am and stop running from what I love, maybe then I'll begin to sell these."

Everyone was quiet for a moment. When someone finally spoke it was Fred who had just remembered a time when they had caught a kid shoplifting and took care of the situation their way.


	10. TheEnd?

Chapter Ten:

Tonks and Charlie had to return to work the next day but the rest were able stay out the week.

The days past slowly for Ginevra. She didn't hear anything from Blaise or Draco. She tried to lose herself in her art but for the first time in nine years nothing worked. So, she spent a lot of time with her friends and family, showing them the city, listening to them talk, and letting them attempt to distract her.

Blaise spent every waking moment trying to talk sense into Draco. He used every approach he could come up with. He tried logic, emotion, anger, and even pleading. Nothing seemed to work. Draco was convinced it was best for everyone involved if he just stayed away from her.

Draco was honestly afraid to face her. He was afraid of seeing all the pain she had felt over the last nine years and know it was his fault. He had seen enough of it in those few moments at the picnic when she explained why she was a photographer. Then he had understood, empathized, but now it would be different; he would know he was the reason she had been alone for so long. He didn't know if he could take that. He was also afraid that she would be angry with him. He was afraid that now he knew who she was she would voice all the pain and anger she had held back to avoid giving herself away. He was afraid that she would be angry with him for going to her family rather than her when he had learned the truth. It never crossed his mind to be angry with her for not telling him who she was; _that_ he understood perfectly. She had every right to after what she had been through.

Eventually Friday came around and Ginevra was arguing with Sarah while the others watched, not really sure if they should chime in.

"You're going." Sarah didn't leave room for argument.

Ginevra made room. "No, I am not."

"You have to."

"Why?"

"You said you would."

"I'll still pay for the ticket."

"They expect you to bring your camera, you know that."

"They didn't ask for it and therefore have no right to complain if it is not there."

"You need to go." Sarah's voice had changed. It was now soft, encouraging, and concerned.

Ginevra sighed and sat down. "No, I do not." She really did not want to have this conversation.

Snape finally decided it was time to speak. "Do you love him?"

"Yes." She didn't even have to think.

"Do you think he was a fool to leave in the first place?"

"Yes."

"Than why are you leaving your future in the hands of someone whom you _know_ to be a fool?" Snape somehow managed to sound concerned and condescending at the same time. "I always thought you were smarter than that. If you love him, and you want him, and you know he has a history of being a fool and walking away, why in the name of Merlin's beard are you giving him the opportunity to do so again? You are angry with him because he hasn't come to speak with you; have you gone to speak with him? Fine, be angry, be hurt, you have a right. But what good does it do to exercise that right if you still lose him? Confront him about it. Make him look you in eye and face everything he has been running away from. If he walks out then you're better off without him. If you let him walk away without that, he's better off without you."

Remus covered his mouth with his hand to hide a smile. The twins clapped. Bill watched his little sister intently. Sarah gaped; this man had just said everything she was too afraid to say.

Ginevra sat there for a moment, staring at the floor. Finally she stood up and looked Snape in the eye. "Thank you," she whispered, "I needed that." He nodded.

Draco was hiding in the bathroom. Blaise, however, found him easily. "You're going."

"No, I'm not."

"You're being childish."

"I'm well aware of that. I'm hiding in a bathroom."

"I noticed. You're going."

"I'm not."

"You're presence is required."

"Why?"

"Because you are half of the reason this banquet is being thrown. If you do not show up will insult our new partners and the deal will fall through."

"Tell them I came down with something fatal."

"Listen Malfoy," Blaise had tried telling Draco off earlier to shock him into to sensible thinking, but he had not actually gotten angry; he was angry now, "you will come out of that bathroom now, get dressed, and accompany me to the banquet. You will not hide in the bathroom one we arrive; you will not run from every flash of red you see out of the corner of you eye; you will not consciously avoid her. Do you understand me?"

There was silence from the behind the door. Blaise heard a very deep groan before the door opened and a vey disgruntled Draco appeared. "You won't let this go will you?"

Blaise's eyes were sharp as he met Draco's, "No."

Sarah was attending the banquet with Blaise and Snape accompanied Ginevra. It was a toss up between him or Bill and they all agreed that Bill would probably inspire more fear in the blond. Unfortunately for everyone involved, or perhaps not, someone heard that Blaise had invited Sarah and rearranged the seating so that Ginevra would be at the same table with her long time friend. Whoever it was that made that decision honestly thought they were being kind, but it made for a very awkward atmosphere that lasted through the first three courses.

Finally, Ginevra couldn't take anymore. "I need some fresh air. You'll forgive me if I don't return until desert." Snape exchanged a look with Blaise, but neither said anything as she got up and walked out.

Once she was out of earshot Snape turned to Draco. His eyes were cold and his voice was firm. "You really should accompany her. You look a little peaked. I'm afraid if you remain in here much longer you will find breathing very difficult."

Draco gulped. He didn't doubt there was a wand pointed at him under the table, and he was correct. He looked toward the door and contemplated which he would rather face, Snape's wand or Ginevra. For a moment he favored the wand, but Blaise stabbed in the arm with a second wand and he got up and followed the red head.

She was standing on a balcony, face to the breeze with her eyes closed. Her back was to him, but he could tell her eyes were closed. She was pretending she didn't exist. She was trying to become part of the wind. She had done this frequently during the war.

He walked over the railing and leaned up against it.

"I don't care, you know, not anymore." She didn't face him as she spoke. She could feel him slump. She sighed. "I don't care that you left. I don't care that I have spent the last week terrified that I would lose you all over again. I don't care that I spent nine years alone. I don't care about the past. That's what I don't care about." She turned to face him. "All I care about is now. Are you going to walk away from me again?"

He looked up at her. Hope and fear were evident in every feature of his face. "Only if you ask me to."

She started to cry. He honestly had no idea what to do or why she was crying. He didn't know if he should leave or hold her or wait. She put her hand to her eyes. "Why would I ask you leave when all I have ever wanted is for you to return?"

He started laughing and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. He held her like he would never let her go. She buried her face in his shoulder and cried out all the pain, loneliness, and fear of nine years and the last week. She cried for joy. When she stopped, she pulled away, wiped her face with her hands and looked up at the man she loved.

She reached out and ran her hand down the side of his face, letting it rest on his cheek. Her other hand went to his chest to feel his heart beat. Her eyes locked with his as though she were trying desperately to believe what was happening, that he was real, and that he was staying.

He pulled her in and kissed her. In that one kiss she felt all the last nine years disappear; she felt all the doubt melt away; she felt safe and whole again. When they pulled apart they held each other again. "We should get back inside. You _are_ the guest of honor." She spoke very quietly, as if in a dream. He nodded against her head.

She went to the bathroom to wash her face and he returned to the table. Everyone looked up at him with curiosity. He surveyed the seating arrangements. Sarah was next to Blaise and Snape sat across from them with an empty seat on either side. "See, this really isn't going to work. Would you mind moving one seat over in either direction?"

Blaise grinned, Sarah beamed, and Snape smirked as he did as he was bid. Ginevra came and sat between the man she loved as a father and the man she loved with all her heart. The rest of the evening would be remembered by them all as one of the most wonderful evenings of their lives.

Ginevra and Draco still had a lot to talk about, and they would, but later. There was the question of whether or not there was a point for the three to continue avoiding the wizarding world, but that could be addressed later. She needed to deal with her family, but again, that could be done later. Right now they simply enjoyed the beauty that surrounded them, the good food, and the company of good friends.

* * *

THE END?

* * *

A/N as of now i have no intention of continueing the story. if you would like to see it go on let me know, although i do not promise it will. 


End file.
